Islamabad -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Pakistan 's former president Pervez Musharraf is back in Pakistan after years of self-imposed exile and is facing a hard time from courts in Pakistan amid a range of charges , including claims he illegally placed senior judges under house arrest during a period of emergency rule he imposed in 2007 .

Likely to add to his charge sheet , Musharraf recently gave an interview to CNN 's Nic Robertson when he admitted that he had given the U.S. permission on a `` very few '' occasions to strike targets within Pakistan . Musharraf , an army general who overthrew a democratically elected government during a 1999 coup , had previously remained silent about the strikes Washington carried out under his tenure .

But Musharraf left power in 2008 , so why has he waited until now to speak ?

One obvious reason is sheer self-interest . Musharraf returned to Pakistan last month after five years of self-imposed exile in London and Dubai . He did so under the false belief that he might still be popular among the people and that he might be able to reclaim power in the upcoming elections . But upon his arrival he found only hostility . Pakistanis may not be happy with the way the country is being run now , but most do n't want to see the return of a dictator who brokered secret deals that resulted in the deaths of so many innocent Pakistanis .

Open hostility is not all Musharraf has faced , though . The Supreme Court has ordered Musharraf to appear before them on charges of treason , a crime punishable by death in Pakistan . Several lower courts are also considering murder charges against Musharraf for his role in several killings , including that of several seminary students at Islamabad 's Red Mosque during a confrontation with security forces in 2007 . The Supreme Court has banned Musharraf from leaving the country and his name has been placed on an exit control list . He is currently under house arrest at his ranch compound outside the capital . Musharraf himself believes the claims are politically motivated .

It is , therefore , no surprise that Musharraf has chosen now to speak out about U.S. drone strikes . If he can appease the Americans again , perhaps the U.S. administration will once again ride to his rescue . He has given President Barack Obama 's administration a much-needed headline of Pakistani support for U.S. drone strikes . But the headline itself is misleading .

First , Musharraf 's statement involved only a limited number of strikes , those conducted during the administration of President George W. Bush . His consent does not extend beyond those strikes to cover those carried out under Obama , when the intensity of drone strikes escalated dramatically to form the bulk of all drone strikes . Of the 367 drone strikes , only 52 were carried out before President Obama came into office , according to the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism -LRB- TBIJ -RRB- .

Under the Obama administration , Pakistan 's parliament , in two different sessions , has declared the strikes both illegal and counter-productive . Unlike under Musharraf , the current parliament is democratically elected and speaks with the authority of the constitution behind it .

There are also serious questions about whether Musharraf 's consent was even valid for the few he supposedly approved . Any consent would have to comply with Pakistan 's constitutional laws . The High Court in the Pakistani city of Peshawar considered this question recently . During his oral arguments , the Chief Justice made it clear that the Pakistani constitution protects its citizens ' right to life and that no political leader can consent to an abrogation of that right without due process .

The reality is drones -- with or without consent -- are a seductive option for the leader of the free world . It is good politics to keep America `` safe '' by engaging in a war that only lines up body bags on the other side . In this war , the human losses that normally bring an end to war -- like those in Vietnam -- do n't exist .

Even more seductive is the ability to wage war without oversight . For years , the CIA has refused to tell anyone who it may be killing . We 're supposed to have faith in the CIA 's good nature and their claims that they are only killing bad guys . In fact the claim drone strikes are killing only al Qaeda simply is not true -- I personally represent more than 100 civilian victims of strikes and they are absolutely not militants . According to nonpartisan public policy group , the New American Foundation , drones strikes have killed at least 1,990 Pakistanis , including hundreds of civilians .

Obama campaigned and was elected on a platform of change , one that would end the abuses and torture so prevalent during the early years of the so-called war on terror . More than four years later , the `` change '' Obama has brought to Pakistan through drones has resulted in more needless deaths , daily suicide attacks , and growing instability . For the average Pakistani , whether a murderous , corrupt dictator consented to this brand of change is irrelevant .

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Mirza Shahzad Akbar .

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Pakistan 's former president Pervez Musharraf recently returned from exile

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Said U.S. given permission to launch drone strikes on ` very few ' occasions

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Akbar : Musharraf will be looking to win support from Washington once more

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But the former military chief is barred from standing in May 11 election